I safely arrived at my ‘petit studio’ in the 13th arrondissement bordering the 5th, which greatly exceeded my expectations. It was more than just a studio in size and layout, having a totally separate kitchen, bathroom and hallway, so felt like a small apartment. The two floor-to-ceiling windows threw light into the white-washed rooms, simply furnished with wooden floors, creating an overall convivial ambiance (another plus was that it was super clean and the jovial landlady was very proactive/reactive!). The apartment was five minute’s walk away from Jardin des Plantes – one of my favourite parks in Paris, being rather reminiscent of an English cottage garden and seldom frequented …
… apart from weekends or school holidays, when groups of children swarm around the fascinating galleries of the Natural History Museum of France, part of which happens to be based in Jardin des Plantes. The many attractions include the Evolution Gallery, the Menagerie and ‘Les Grandes Serres’/large hot houses, reminiscent of Kew Gardens.
As with most Parisian ‘quartiers’, it was rather like a little village with its own identity, complete with a rather comprehensive range of small businesses – boulangeries, pharmacies, butchers’ shops, iron mongers, mini supermarkets et al. It was also very close to Rue Mouffetard, so had the benefit of the plentiful food market stalls, cafés and restaurants. However, I soon realised that Rue Mouffetard was not a place frequented by Parisians, being rather a tourist trap with inflated prices. There were of course the odd exceptions, such as quality goods not readily available elsewhere – succulent Medjool dates, unusual goat’s cheeses, exotic fruits and vegetables and I even found a great cobbler to restore my winter footwear!
There were other exceptions to the rule, namely my favourite café, St Médard, at the bottom of Rue Mouffetard. It was elegantly French and, although I felt treated like a tourist on my first few visits, I was gradually made to feel more welcome as time went on. So much so, that my café allongé, croissant and verre d’eau used to arrive without me having to order it!
 |
| St Médard |